Palestinians beat Israeli musician in Berlin for defending Israel

The YouTube video caption reads: "Germany: Man attacked at Palestinian event for allegedly yelling 'Israel.'"

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
A woman holds a sign which reads "Boycott Israel" in front of symbolic coffins while attending a demonstration supporting Palestine, in Berlin August 1, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Pal (photo credit: REUTERS/STEFFI LOOS)
A woman holds a sign which reads "Boycott Israel" in front of symbolic coffins while attending a demonstration supporting Palestine, in Berlin August 1, 2014. Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists. Hamas said that Pal
(photo credit: REUTERS/STEFFI LOOS)
German Palestinians violently attacked the Israeli clarinetist Daniel Gurfinkel in Berlin on May 4, according to a YouTube video that surfaced on Thursday.
According to a report by  German reporter Ulrich W. Sahm on the website of Audiator, “A dozen hateful Palestinians can be seen beating up Daniel Gurfinkel at an event on a large square.”
Gurfinkel said in a statement: “I walked through Hermann Square and saw that there was a demonstration against Israel. I am a resident of the State of Israel. The attack began immediately when I began to support my country with a single word. I’ve been struck on the head and I’m in pain so far. I was in total shock.”
The YouTube video caption reads: “Germany: Man attacked at Palestinian event for allegedly yelling ‘Israel.’”
Hermann Square is located in Berlin’s Neukölln district, a neighborhood with a large Muslim population.
“The police treated the incident with great indifference and did not immediately arrest the attackers,” Gurfinkel said. “As you can see in the video. The police did not protect me immediately and it took more than five minutes to complete. I have been living in Berlin for four years and did not think that would happen to me. In any case, I will continue to support my country. The police must be more vigilant in such situations.”
The Audiator report quoted a Berlin police spokesman who said that , in general, “I can inform you that in the course of the event on Hermann Square on May 4, 2019, we have five complaints for assault, attempted bodily harm, dangerous bodily harm, use of signs from unconstitutional organizations, and a violation of the right to assemble.”
The attack occurred at a pro-Palestinian event where calls for the destruction of Israel were heard such as “Palestine from the river to the sea.” Berlin Morgenpost journalist Alexander Dinger reported on Twitter about the antisemitic slogan. The Palestinian events also promoted the boycott, divestment, sanction (BDS) campaign targeting Israel.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, emailed The Jerusalem Post: “An Israeli musician beaten in Berlin by Palestinians and police initially react indifferently. Chancellor Merkel, Mayor Mueller – Is this the new normal for Jews in Germany?”
Daniel and his twin brother, Alexander, 27, are musical students at the Hanns Eisler Academy in Berlin.
The brothers were born in 1992 and “began their musical education in the year 2000 and by age 12, they were invited by Zubin Mehta to appear as soloists in the annual concert for young musicians with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra,” according to their website.
Pro-Palestinian activists distributed antisemitic flyers at the events targeting The Jerusalem Post, the German Jewish author and journalist, Henryk M. Broder, and the Green Party politician Volker Beck who opposes BDS. The pro-Palestinian activists also urged a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv this week.
Antonia Yamin‏, the chief Europe correspondent for KAN, tweeted about the anti-Israel rally: “While over 150 rockets were launched today from #Gaza to #Israel (trying to scare the Eurovision delegations) a BDS group in Neukölln Berlin (yes the area where I was attacked) decided to hang this sign - using the #SS Logo in the word #Eurovision Disgusting!”